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can't stand the DR. a little vent...

i've always done things a little different, so this is not new territory, but at moments I get very MAD at the ignorance & ego of M.D.'s. We had G's 4 month visit yesterday and all went well. And the DR asks how often he's eating, I say I'm still feeding on demand and he wakes usually around 1, then 3, then 5. (I need to tell the truth!)
'oh well, considering he's gaining weight beautifully and his age you can just let him fuss and go back to sleep as he can sleep through the night now, get him out of the habit of comfort nursing...'
so i say...
WELL, if he's gaining so good why would I want to change anything? And I plan to BF for a while and I don't want o jepordize my supply, AND I really don't mind.
HIM: Well yes your supply will go down, but you don't want him to get in the habit of always waking at night?
I do like him. For one reason he doesn't hassle me about not vaxing now, which is a huge reason I'm with him. But come on! GIVE THE MOTHER SOME RESPECT AND PROPS! Allow us to BF as much as the child wants, as often, and let this world be filled with secure, healthy children who have great trusting relationships with thier parents!

I'm only 4.5 months in this, but love it, and love BF!!!!And will not put up with people second guessing this beautiful connection...

Momma to Gordie Oshkay born 1/6/11.
He's a love monkey who loves & eats big!
We EBF, cloth diaper, and do lots of baby wearing as he loves being close to momma!

Re: can't stand the DR. a little vent...

You know, I wonder - are they saying it because they assume all Mother's resent night feeds and secretly want to sleep? Maybe they feel like they're giving us an out that they think we're hoping for?

Once breast feeding was going well, I quickly learned to only offer what was asked for. No more, no less. The girls doctor is their doctor, not mine (or if they are your doctor as well, you're there for your LO's appointment and not yours).

It's a different way of thinking of it. If they ask "How often are they eating?" then answer "Oh every 3 or 4 hours, it's going great." with a big smile on your face.
"Are they sleeping through the night?" then answer "Not yet, we'll get there."

You're answering the questions, but without the suggestion or indication that you're asking for help or in need of it. Be confident and happy - which will indicate that you don't need any more input thank-you-very-much.

Re: can't stand the DR. a little vent...

Gosh I hate those sleeping through the night questions...they come from everywhere! I feel the same way as you too, if gaining well why mess with what's working? 4.5 months seems so young to me too...Some people get those great sleeper babies, not me I got an early crawler/walker

My favorite response is "more or less". It works for a lot of questions. That and "it's going great". Notice how neither of those give specifics and they imply "stop asking me". I also think asking questions back to questions works well. So he says: "sleeping through the night?" and you say "more or less". if he dares to ask: "well what's more or less?", you can say "well how long is sttn exactly?" and if he says "6 hours" you can say "yea, more or less!" works for mother in laws too, most of the time

Re: can't stand the DR. a little vent...

If we cut out night feeding my DS would not eat much at all! He snack nurses in the day and chows down at night. Continue the night nursing and don't worry about the doc. If you like him and he supports breastfeeding in general then that is pretty good (not perfect but good). It is hard to find docs okay with Breastfeeding in general.